focus study: fractured face drawing

This activity is designed for you to observe value scales of light to dark in a portrait. You will collage a face together, transfer it to your paper and use value and shading skills to observe and recreate where the light and dark areas are of the face.

1. source and find a variety of front facing portraits from the internet or magazines. Divide the face into 4 sections around the eyes, nose and mouth and cut these out,  you should be left with the head shape/hair and shoulders.  

2. Keep ONE facial piece and swap your other three with other people [or other faces if working alone].  Be mindful of sizes of features, and keeping it somewhat balanced, but still distorted.  

3. Arrange your "new" face back together and glue down.

4. Practice drawing facial features by watching the videos below.

5. Lightly sketch your fractured face outlines to a fresh sheet of paper and start to add values to the face.

6. make sure you look closely at your fractured face and take note of where the lightest and darkest areas are - you need to aim to get a full value range of black through to white in your drawing. 

I have a motto - KEEP IT LIGHT TILL IT'S RIGHT.  Your pencil marks should be super light when you are starting out sketching in the shapes and forms. Once you feel you have them all in the correct place, then you can start to build up value and shade.  THERE SHOULD BE LITTLE EVIDENCE OF LINES!  just different values against each other!